Month: November 2017

by Amina Renee Hola, divas ! I’d like to introduce you to a young man who is running for WV house of delegates 36th district: James Elam. Amina – “James, tell the public a bit about yourself. Who you are? Your past, present, and why you are running for office? …

By Jake Fertig On a quiet fall afternoon, I ventured up the wide stairs that led to the second floor studio of one of my favorite local artists. At the top of the stairs is a beautiful high-contrast batik covering the window, with soft yellow light shining through. I have …

by Gary Hess Mention Christian Lopez to someone and the response is often something like: “Yeah, I’ve heard of him, he’s from West Virginia, right? Doesn’t he play country?” I first saw Christian perform at the Blue Parrot in Charleston, back in March, 2013. He was 17 years old. While …

“It’s not about unreasonable force by the police or unethical profiling of specific ethnic populations in our country! It’s not about equality, or seeking to rebalance the national, cultural landscape. You’re disrespecting the flag! You’re disrespecting our sacred symbol for “the land of the free”. How dare you disregard ‘the …

On June 16, 2015, Japanese video game director Taro Yoko appeared at the Square Enix E3 press conference wearing a mask resembling one of his characters. He then announced his next game, Nier: Automata. An indirect sequel to the cult classic Nier, the announcement excited fans and shocked everyone else. …

Some bands are really just one person, one individual without whom the group could not exist. There may be many other voices, some of them very important; but ultimately, the music remains an expression of that single person’s creativity. LCD Soundsystem is more or less James Murphy, the same way …

Let us take a seat at the top of our mats. Find an easy, seated position–whatever that may be for your body today. Maybe move some glute flesh out of the way so your bones make firm contact with the earth underneath. Root yourself, so you can rise. Begin to …

In my 36 years on this planet, I’ve lived a fair number of places in the US. From San Francisco, to Eugene, Oregon to New York City, and I can say in all seriousness that West Virginia is a punk rock mecca. We have such an unknown and wonderful history …

I’m used to being unusual. Exotic. More than the usual. After all, I’m black in America; black in WV. Of course, that means I always have to be different. That said, I’m also bisexual and a bit of a late bloomer. I consider myself queer. A queer, bisexual, black, socialist …